Operating an online business has become an increasingly viable way to build an income, and many people begin as personal bloggers and then find that their site grows, as does their income.
If you’ve already moved beyond the initial stages of creating a blog that generates income, and you’re now working on expanding and growing, you may be in the process of hiring people to work with you.
When you hire employees, freelancers or contractors for your online business, it’s important to maintain strong communication, clear expectations and to collaborate as you would in a traditional work environment.
While these may seem like challenges in a virtual business setting, there are project management and collaboration tools that simplify this.
The following are some tips for online business owners to choose the right tools and technology for their needs.
What Are Your Goals?
You may know in general that your goals are to increase collaboration between your content creators and your blogging team, but what are your specific goals?
You should look at technology and PM tools as a way to achieve very specific business goals.
For example, do you want to improve the efficiency of your content creation and editorial team? Do you want more standardization and consistency in your content creation? Do you want more visibility between team members?
Simple or Complex?
If you’re just starting to really build your income-generating blog and your content team, you might want something simple. If that's the case, a free plugin might be sufficient for your needs. WordPress offers free plugins that can help users manage the workflow of their content creation, and it’s a good starting place for scheduling posts, monitoring progress and publishing.
On the other hand, if you have a larger blog and more team members, you might want a more sophisticated tool, and those options are going to come with a cost. In this instance, your budget is going to be a significant part of the selection process.
Scalability
If you are going with a more complex project management or content creation management tool, scalability is a key concern.
Your hope is, of course, that your online business continues to grow, so look for cloud-based options that allow you add new users and capabilities as your blog expands and the need arises.
You don’t want to be locked into a product that’s limited and isn’t going to scale up along with your needs.
Digital Workspace
When you’re assembling a team of content creators and managers, it can be important to include the ability to all come together in a digital workspace for brainstorming.
Brainstorm sessions are essential for new content ideas, and managing the overall creative direction of your blog, so try to find collaboration tools that offer the option for everyone to come together virtually and share their ideas.
Something like a virtual “whiteboard” can be a great option, and you want features that store these brainstorming sessions so you can refer back to them later.
Choosing collaborative and project management technology and software is a critical component of building any online business, including a blog. Making the right choice can improve your productivity, teamwork, and the overall success of your site.
